Handmade Rug: Side (Selvedge) Repairs

After the fringes, the sides or selvedges of a rug are next to show signs of wear. After years of use, friction can cause the sides of a rug to unravel or the fabrics can weaken due to stress causing them to break. High heels and pets in particular are culprits when it comes to rug selvedges.

Similar to fringes, selvedge repairs are important to catch early. A small area of selvedge can be repaired in a short time however if left without attention damage can easily spread to where the entire side of the rug needs to be rebound. While not a complete disaster, in order to maintain the aethetic beauty of the rug it may mean that in order to match the colour of wool both sides are best being re-bound. This can mean what would normally cost £20-30 for a small section can lead to £200-300 to have the sides restored on a medium-to-large-sized rug.

Most rugs have a simple single-ended selvedge however some Turkish rugs can have decorative double or triple-ended sides which are more complicated and can add to cost, as will those rugs with multi-coloured sides (many Shiraz and Qashqai rugs).